Paris – Nice 2018 Full Preview
Summary
The first major event of the season comes in the form of Paris – Nice, the Race to the Sun. However, with the recent cold stint experienced across Europe, it may be a race to the snow for this, the 76th edition of the French stage race. With two-time winner Richie Porte out of the race, we’ll see a cast of Grand Tour riders seeking to perform in their first proper test on the road. The Izagirre brothers will be working together for Bahrain Merida, Team Sky will certainly be looking to retain their record with Poels heading the lineup, supported by 2017 victor Sergio Henao.
The French cohort will be fighting to present themselves on home turf- Warren Barguil (Fortuneo – Samsic), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie), Julian Alaphilippe (Quickstep floors) and Pierre Rolland (EF-Education First p/b Drapac) will all appear at the start line which is a surefire recipe for fireworks in the general classification in the battle for best French rider.
Paris – Nice 76th edition
March 4 2018 – March 11 2018
8 Stages
1198.9 kilometres
Favourites
***** Wout Poels, Julian Alaphilippe, Luis Leon Sanchez, Tim Wellens
**** Ilnur Zakarin, Bauke Mollema, Tony Gallopin
*** Tejay Van Garderen, Ion Izagirre
Previous winners
2017 Sergio Luis Henao
2016 Geraint Thomas
2015 Richie Porte
2014 Carlos Betancur
2013 Richie Porte
2012 Bradley Wiggins
2011 Tony Martin
2010 Alberto Contador
2009 Luis Leon Sanchez
2008 Davide Rebellin
Route
Stage 1
Stage one of Paris – Nice 2018 is for the puncheurs. It kicks up in the final two kilometres with an average gradient of 5.4%. A relatively short stage only 135km in distance, we could also see a few of the stronger sprinters in the mix at the finish.
Stage 2
A flat day and the first sprint stage of the week. With an all-star cast of sprinters featuring at the race, it’s going to be a hectic fight for the win. Ten fast-men will line up on stage one: Alexander Kristoff (UAE-Team Emirates), Sam Bennett (BORA – hansgrohe), John Degenkolb (Trek – Segafredo), Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb), Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto-NL-Jumbo), Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal), Magnus Cort Nielsen (Astana), Elia Viviani (Quickstep), Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Arnaud Démare (FDJ).
Stage 3
Similar to stage one, day three ends with a ramp of 1km at 5%, before the final kilometre sprint to the finish line. A lumpy stage overall and at 210 kilometres in length, not one we’re likely to see any sprinters make an appearance for.
Stage 4
The individual time trial on stage four could very well set the tone for our general classification contenders. An eight-kilometre grind at 2% followed by a fast descent and a final kicker at 8%.
Stage 5
A proper mountain stage with a meaty climb just prior to the halfway mark at kilometre 76.5. Any pretenders would have to be away with a significant gap prior to the Col du Pointu if they want to stand a chance of staying away but it’s unlikely they’ll go the remaining 115km.
Stage 6
A day for those building form throughout the race. At this point, a series of cat. 2 climbs will be manageable and those with the grit will look for a speedy descent of the Côte du Gourdon ahead of the ramp up to Vence.
Stage 7
A tough stage that will undoubtedly define the GC. The mountain top finish will be an opportunity to make up for any time lost in the ITT.
Stage 8
The Col d’Èze is a staple in the Paris-Nice repertoire but this year we’ll see an unconventional route for the final stage. The peloton will descend to then climb the Col des Quatre chemins, before the finishing in Nice.
Official Startlist
TEAM SKY
1 SERGIO LUIS HENAO MONTOYA
2 DAVID DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO
3 WOUT POELS
4 DIEGO ROSA
5 IAN STANNARD
6 DYLAN VAN BAARLE
UAE TEAM EMIRATES
11 DANIEL MARTIN
12 SVEN ERIK BYSTRØM
13 RUI ALBERTO FARIA DA COSTA
14 ALEXANDER KRISTOFF
15 RORY SUTHERLAND
16 BEN SWIFT
17 OLIVIERO TROIA
BAHRAIN – MERIDA
21 GORKA IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI
22 MANUELE BOARO
23 IVAN GARCIA CORTINA
24 HEINRICH HAUSSLER
25 JON IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI
26 ANTONIO NIBALI
27 LUKA PIBERNIK
QUICK – STEP FLOORS
31 JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE
32 TIM DECLERCQ
33 DRIES DEVENYNS
34 YVES LAMPAERT
35 MICHAEL MORKOV
36 FABIO SABATINI
37 ELIA VIVIANI
TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN
41 ILNUR ZAKARIN
42 IAN BOSWELL
43 MARCO HALLER
44 PAVEL KOCHETKOV
45 MAURITIUS LAMMERTINK
46 TIAGO MACHADO
47 NILS POLITT
MITCHELTON – SCOTT
51 SIMON YATES
52 JOHAN ESTEBAN CHAVES RUBIO
53 ALEXANDER EDMONDSON
54 MATHEW HAYMAN
55 CHRISTOPHER JUUL-JENSEN
56 ROMAN KREUZIGER
57 MATTEO TRENTIN
AG2R LA MONDIALE
61 TONY GALLOPIN
63 MIKAEL CHEREL
63 AXEL DOMONT
64 CYRIL GAUTIER
65 OLIVER NAESEN
66 STIJN VANDENBERGH
67 ALEXIS VUILLERMOZ
BMC RACING TEAM
71 TEJAY VAN GARDEREN
72 ALESSANDRO DE MARCHI
73 JEAN-PIERRE DRUCKER
74 SIMON GERRANS
75 NICOLAS ROCHE
76 JURGEN ROELANDTS
77 DYLAN TEUNS
TREK – SEGAFREDO
81 BAUKE MOLLEMA
82 JULIEN BERNARD
83 KOEN DE KORT
84 JOHN DEGENKOLB
85 MARKEL IRIZAR
86 JARLINSON PANTANO GOMEZ
87 GREGORY RAST
ASTANA PRO TEAM
91 JAKOB FUGLSANG
92 OMAR FRAILE MATARRANZ
93 DMITRIY GRUZDEV
94 HUGO HOULE
95 MAGNUS CORT NIELSEN
96 LUIS LEÓN SANCHEZ
97 MICHAEL VALGREN ANDERSEN
LOTTO SOUDAL
101 TIM WELLENS
102 LARS BAK YTTING
103 JASPER DE BUYST
104 THOMAS DE GENDT
105 ANDRÉ GREIPEL
106 MARCEL SIEBERG
107 JELLE WALLAYS
GROUPAMA – FDJ
111 ARNAUD DEMARE
112 MICKAEL DELAGE
113 JACOPO GUARNIERI
114 IGNATAS KONOVALOVAS
115 OLIVIER LE GAC
116 RUDY MOLARD
117 RAMON SINKELDAM
MOVISTAR TEAM
121 CARLOS BARBERO
122 RICHARD ANTONIO CARAPAZ
123 HECTOR CARRETERO
124 IMANOL ERVITI OLLO
125 DAYER QUINTANA
126 EDUARDO SEPULVEDA
127 MARC SOLER
TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC
131 WARREN BARGUIL
132 MAXIME BOUET
133 ANTHONY DELAPLACE
134 KEVIN LEDANOIS
135 AMAEL MOINARD
136 PIERRE LUC PERICHON
137 LAURENT PICHON
141 ROBERT GESINK
142 LARS BOOM
143 DYLAN GROENEWEGEN
144 AMUND GRONDAL JANSEN
145 THOMAS LEEZER
146 PAUL MARTENS
147 TIMO ROOSEN
TEAM SUNWEB
151 SAM OOMEN
152 PHIL BAUHAUS
153 ROY CURVERS
154 CHRISTOPHER HAMILTON
155 MIKE TEUNISSEN
156 EDWARD THEUNS
157 LOUIS VERVAEKE
COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
161 JESUS HERRADA LOPEZ
162 NACER BOUHANNI
163 NICOLAS EDET
164 JOSE HERRADA LOPEZ
165 CHRISTOPHE LAPORTE
166 CYRIL LEMOINE
167 BERT VAN LERBERGHE
EF EDUCATION FIRST – DRAPAC P/B CANNONDALE
171 PIERRE ROLLAND
172 MATTI BRESCHEL
173 LAWSON CRADDOCK
174 MITCHELL DOCKER
175 SEBASTIAN LANGEVELD
176 DANIEL MCLAY
177 TOM SCULLY
TEAM DIMENSION DATA
181 TOM-JELTE SLAGTER
182 NATNAEL BERHANE
183 RYAN GIBBONS
184 BENJAMIN KING
185 SERGE PAUWELS
186 JAY ROBERT THOMSON
187 JOHANN VAN ZYL
BORA – HANSGROHE
191 SAM BENNETT
192 ERIK BASKA
193 FELIX GROSSSCHARTNER
194 PATRICK KONRAD
195 PAWEL POLJANSKI
196 JURAJ SAGAN
197 MICHAEL SCHWARZMANN
DIRECT ENERGIE
201 LILIAN CALMEJANE
202 THOMAS BOUDAT
203 SYLVAIN CHAVANEL
204 JEROME COUSIN
205 FABIEN GRELLIER
206 JONATHAN HIVERT
207 ANGELO TULIK
DELKO MARSEILLE PROVENCE KTM
211 ROMAIN COMBAUD
212 REMY DI GREGORIO
213 JULIEN EL FARES
214 DELIO FERNANDEZ CRUZ
216 PRZEMYSLAW KASPERKIEWICZ
215 BRENTON JONES
217 EVALDAS SISKEVICIUS